In Colemêrg (Hakkari), a taxi was stopped on the grounds that it overtook an undercover police vehicle. The commercial taxi driven by F.Ö. was stopped at Depin Police Check Point and the dricer and Azat Kaya, Şevket Kaya and Hamdullah Kaya were detained by the police. They were subjected to insults and violence of the police officers and were taken out of the vehicle and tortured, threatened and insulted. After being beaten, the youth were released without any official detention and went to the hospital to get a medical report on the beatings. Afterwards, Hakkari Provincial Gendarmerie Station took the testifies of the young people on the subject. 

 

The youth told Mezopotamya Agency about the torture and ill-treatment they experienced.

 

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT

 

Hamdullah Kaya stated that he had called a taxi to go to a job interview in Colemêrg Center on 9 December and that he and his brothers Şevket and Azad Kaya got into the car driven by F. Ö. and set off on the road. Kaya said that when they approached the location where Çatallar Mosque is located, a civilian vehicle in front of them was travelling in the middle of the road and that they flashed their lights and asked fot the way to the vehicle that did not give way to them and overtook the vehicle my manoeuvring. Kaya stated that they were intercepted by another civilian vehicle just after passing the Depin Police Checkpoint, and that those who stopped them were civilians and asked for their ID cards, whereupon they gave their ID cards guessing that they were police officers. 

 

After giving their ID cards, the police asked them to pull the vehicle over, Kaya explained the rest of the incident in the following words: "Then a Clio-type civilian vehicle with women in it, which we later learnt were police officers, pulled in front of the taxi and wanted to search the vehicle. Upon this, our taxi driver friend, not knowing that the people were police officers and not presenting a document stating that they were police officers, said, 'Why are you searching the vehicle? Do you have a warrant? You can't search the vehicle in this way', the police officers said, 'who are you to ask for a decision from us, we can do whatever we want'. Although we did not cause any disturbance or trouble during the vehicle and body searches, many policemen there were constantly swearing at us and insulting us. We were constantly being flicked. We were expected to fight back, but we did not fight back."

 

TORTURE AT CHECKPOINT

 

Stating that they were taken to a hut located at the Depin Control Point after minutes of insults and that they were subjected to inhumane treatment here, "We were all beaten one by one for minutes inside. They laid us on the ground and stomped on our backs. Then, when we were all inside, they told us to be naked and not to wear anything on us. Although we told them that this was against human dignity and offensive, they forced us to take off all our clothes with threats and beatings. Only our underwear remained on us. During this time, they laughed and made fun of us and turned the torture into an entertainment. They asked us to take off our underwear, to sit up and get up. When we refused, the police officers showed us the truncheon and threatened us to take off our underwear saying 'I will put this in your anus'. We were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during our detention," he said. 

 

'THEY CLIMBED ON MY BACK AND STOMPED ON ME'

 

Kaya said: "In order to prevent torture, we have to explain our situation. We are very victimised. We were tortured even though none of us responded to the police officers. As you can see, my brother's nose was broken by the head of the police officers. My other brother was beaten by squeezing his throat. Our taxi driver friend was beaten by the police, his clothes were torn off and he was beaten. We were made to lie on the floor for hours. Although I told them that I could not breathe during this time, they said 'we are waiting for you to die'."

 

Kaya called for the public to hear their voices to prevent such inhumane practices and continued as follows: "We want everyone to take action against such torture. We are complaining to the end, we want these people to be dismissed immediately. We will not let this go. Everyone who has a conscience should do the same. Those responsible should be suspended, such incidents should not happen again."

 

MA / Mazlum Engindeniz